Image forming apparatus having energy saving mode learning function and controller therefor

ABSTRACT

An energy saving setting unit controls an image forming apparatus that makes a transition to a power saving state if a transition time passes without any prescribed operation in a normal state, and it includes: a unit for storing specific day information distinguishing a normal operation day and a specific day; an auto pattern updating unit determining the transition time in a normal operation day based on past operational status of the normal operation day of the image forming apparatus; a specific day pattern registering unit receiving and storing setting of the transition time of the specific day; and a switching unit, switching the state of conduction of the image forming apparatus using the transition time determined by the auto pattern updating unit and the stored transition time, on the normal operation day and on the specific day, respectively, based on the specific day information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.16/019,121, filed on Jun. 26, 2018, which is a Divisional of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/783,504, filed on Oct. 13, 2017, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,033,897, issued Jul. 24, 2018, which is a Continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/571,042, filed on Dec. 15, 2014, now U.S. Pat.No. 9,826,114, issued Nov. 21, 2017, which is a Continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/682,813, filed on Nov. 21, 2012, which claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No. 2011-260001filed in Japan on Nov. 29, 2011, all of which are hereby expresslyincorporated by reference into the present application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus with anoperational mode allowing a so-called power-saving operation as well asto a controller for controlling the power-saving operation of the imageforming apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates toan image forming apparatus having a function of controlling time fromcompletion of a work before a power saving mode is entered, and acontroller therefor.

Description of the Background Art

As one type of image processing apparatuses as electronic equipment, animage forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet of paper(typically a copy machine) has been introduced to many places ofbusiness (companies and offices). In such a place of business, it isbecoming a common practice to have an image forming apparatus having aprinter function or copy function connected to a network and to sharethe apparatus by a plurality of users. An MFP (MultiFunction Peripheral)as one type of such image forming apparatus has a plurality of basicoperational modes including copy mode, facsimile mode,network-compatible printer mode and scanner mode. In such an imageforming apparatus, each user sets an operational mode and sets afunction such as double-sided printing or collective printing (2-in-1 ofprinting two pages on one sheet, or 4-in-1 of printing four pages on onesheet), and thereby forms an image on recording paper in a desiredmanner. Appropriate combinations of these functions are usedincreasingly these days.

Let us consider a digital image forming apparatus provided with an imageforming unit utilizing electrophotography process. In such an imageforming apparatus, a toner image reproduced on a photoreceptor istransferred to a sheet of recording paper. A heating and fixing unit hasa heat source such as a heater, and fixes the toner that has beentransferred to the sheet of recording paper on the sheet, withprescribed temperature and pressure. Therefore, in order to provide anenvironment allowing image formation at any time, it is necessary tokeep the heating and fixing unit at a constant temperature. This meansthat power conduction to the heater must be controlled continuously.Such a control naturally leads to a problem of increased powerconsumption. Particularly, a heater needs much electric power and,therefore, it poses a significant problem from the viewpoint of energysaving. Reduction of power consumption in companies and offices isemphasized recently and, therefore, constant need of such big electricpower is undesirable.

In view of the foregoing, it may be possible to control power conductionto the heating and fixing unit taking into account operational status ofthe image forming apparatus while it is powered on. If power conductionto the heating and fixing unit is reduced too much, however, therearises a problem that image formation cannot be started immediately evenwhen power conduction to the heating and fixing unit is resumed forimage formation. This is because the temperature of heating and fixingunit has been reduced. An image cannot be formed before the heating andfixing unit attains to a prescribed temperature, and the user is keptwaiting. Therefore, it is not preferable to shut-off power conduction tothe heating and fixing unit too early after the end of operation of theimage forming apparatus.

On the other hand, depending on the time of day or time slot, theapparatus may be used very frequently or may be left idle and kept in astandby state for a long time. If the operational status of the imageforming apparatus is monitored carefully and the time before powerconduction to the heating and fixing unit is shut-off is determinedappropriately, power consumption may possibly be further reduced.

As a solution to such a problem, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No.2007-30325 (hereinafter referred to as '325 Reference) discloses aprinting device in which data is accumulated by obtaining number ofprintings per each time slot while the device is powered-on, andtransition time to the power saving mode is determined based on thenumber of printings of each time slot included in the accumulated data.

FIG. 1 shows an example of wait time per hour of the image formingapparatus, and FIG. 2 shows an example of change in the number ofoutputs and the number of jobs per hour. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, thewait time, the number of outputs and the number of jobs per hour haveprescribed patterns. Such patterns, however, may vary department bydepartment, or may vary seasonally. The patterns may also vary dependenton the day of the week.

The printing device disclosed in '325 Reference learns the transitiontime to the power saving mode based on the history of printing, and theprinting device is controlled such that the time before suspension ismade shorter in the time slot when the number of printing is small, andthe time before suspension is made longer in the time slot when printingis done relatively frequently. Such a control reduces the possibilitythat the printing device is in the suspended state and that it takeslong before an image is formed, when use of the printing device isstarted.

Here, it is noted that depending on the place where the image formingapparatus is installed, the day and the time of day (time slot) when thebusiness peaks is known in advance. If the transition time to the powersaving mode is set short in the day and the time of day when thebusiness peaks, business efficiency lowers. Therefore, it is preferredthat the transition time to the power saving mode is manually settable,to prevent the transition time to the power saving mode from being settoo short in such a specific day (hereinafter also referred to as aspecific day) and specific time of day (hereinafter also referred to asa specific time slot).

For instance, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-71269 (hereinafterreferred to as '269 Reference) discloses an image processing system inwhich the power saving mode of a specific day and specific time slot canbe set manually based on calendar data. It is possible to activate thelearning function as described in '325 Reference and to manually set the“specific day and specific time slot” as disclosed in '269 Reference tocause the apparatus in a specific power saving setting (transition timeto the power saving mode) in the specific day and the specific timeslot, so as to cope with the peak business day of each month and therebyto prevent decrease in business efficiency.

If the operation patterns of an image forming apparatus are wellunderstood by the user, it may be possible to combine the manual settingwith learning, as described in '269 Reference, to reflect theoperational status of the image forming apparatus. In that case,however, if the relation between manual setting and learning is notsuccessfully established, learning accuracy possibly degrades. Such aproblem is not described in '269 Reference. The manual setting itself isnot necessarily easy if the actual situation is to be accuratelyreflected. If the manual setting is not very accurate, energy savingeffect cannot be attained. If accuracy of manual setting is to beincreased, it becomes necessary to accurately grasp the operationalstatus of the image forming apparatus, and the burden on a person incharge becomes heavier.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an imageforming apparatus allowing efficient management of an energy savingoperation pattern by combining learning and manual setting, as well as acontroller for controlling the energy saving operation pattern of theimage forming apparatus.

It is more preferable to provide an image forming apparatus allowingefficient management of the energy saving operation pattern by combininglearning and manual setting, alleviating burden on the person in chargeat the time of manual setting and preventing decrease in accuracy, aswell as a controller for controlling the energy saving operation patternof the image forming apparatus.

According to a first aspect, the present invention provides an imageforming apparatus, capable of changing state of conduction, after alapse of a preset transition time without any prescribed operation madein a normal state, from the normal state to a power saving state ofsmaller power consumption. The image forming apparatus includes: astorage device configured to store specific time slot information fordistinguishing a normal operation time slot and a specific time slot; adetermining device configured to determine the transition time in thenormal operation time slot, based on operational status of the normaloperation time slot in the past of the image forming apparatus; asetting receiving device configured to receive and store setting of thetransition time in the specific time slot; and a switching device,configured to switch the state of conduction of the image formingapparatus, using the transition time determined by the determiningdevice and the transition time stored in the setting receiving device,in the normal operation time slot and in the specific time slot,respectively, based on the specific time slot information stored in thestorage device.

The determining device determines the transition time in a normaloperation time slot, based on the operational status of the imageforming apparatus in the normal operation time slot in the past. On theother hand, the setting receiving device receives setting by an operatorof the transition time in the specific time slot. In the normaloperation time slot, the switching device switches the state of powerconduction of the image forming apparatus between the normal state andthe power saving state using the transition time determined by thedetermining device. On the contrary, in the specific time zone, theswitching device switches the state of power conduction of the imageforming apparatus using the transition time of which setting is receivedby the setting receiving device.

In determining the transition time in the normal operation time slot,the operational status of the image forming apparatus in the normaloperation time slot is used, rather than the operational status of theimage forming apparatus in the specific time slot. Therefore, influenceof the operational status of the image forming apparatus in the specifictime slot on the transition time in the normal operation time slot canbe prevented. As a result, an image forming apparatus allowing efficientmanagement of the energy saving operation pattern by combining learningand manual setting can be provided.

Preferably, the setting receiving device includes: a default transitiontime generating device configured to generate and present to an operatora default value of the transition time of the specific time slot, bycollecting, when setting of the transition time in the specific timeslot is received, information of operational status of the image formingapparatus in each specific time slot; and a modification receivingdevice configured to receive modification by the operator to the defaultvalue, and to store the default value thus modified as the setting ofthe transition time in the specific time slot.

The default value of transition time in the specific time slot isgenerated by the setting receiving device, by collecting the operationalstatus of the image forming apparatus. The operator can set the desiredtransition time based on the actual operational status of the imageforming apparatus in the specific time slot, using the default value asa reference and modifying it as needed by the modification receivingdevice. This prevents excessive burden on the person in charge ofsetting.

More preferably, the image forming apparatus further includes: a holidayobtaining device configured to obtain setting of a holiday of a place ofbusiness where the image forming apparatus is installed; and a changingdevice configured to change, if the specific time slot set by thesetting receiving device falls on the holiday obtained by the holidayobtaining device, the specific time slot to a different time slot havinga prescribed relation with the specific time slot.

If the specific time slot falls on a holiday, the setting of transitiontime of the image forming apparatus would possibly be different from thesetting actually needed in the place of business, unless the specifictime slot is changed to a different time slot. Since the changing deviceis provided, it becomes possible to determine in advance how thespecific time slot is to be changed if it falls on a holiday. Thus,determination of the transition time of the image forming apparatus canbe changed to reflect the actual situation of the place of businesswhere the image forming apparatus is installed.

More preferably, the image forming apparatus further includes a datacommunication device. The holiday obtaining device includes a holidaysetting receiving device configured to receive setting of a holiday ofthe place of business where the image forming apparatus is installed,from a prescribed external device through the communication device.

Assume that a company has a plurality of places of business, andholidays are the same for all the places of business. In that case,holiday management place by place of business is inefficient. Whensettings related to the holidays are stored in an external device andeach image forming apparatus receives the settings from the externaldevice, holidays of the plurality of places of business can collectivelybe managed with high efficiency.

In accordance with a second aspect, the present invention provides acontroller for controlling state of conduction of an image formingapparatus, capable of changing state of conduction, after a lapse of apreset transition time without any prescribed operation made in a normalstate, from the normal state to a power saving state of smaller powerconsumption, the controller including: a storage device configured tostore specific time slot information for distinguishing a normaloperation time slot and a specific time slot; a determining deviceconfigured to determine the transition time in the normal operation timeslot, based on operational status of the normal operation time slot inthe past of the image forming apparatus; a setting receiving deviceconfigured to receive and store setting of the transition time in thespecific time slot; and a switching device, configured to switch thestate of conduction of the image forming apparatus, using the transitiontime determined by the determining device and the transition time storedin the setting receiving device, in the normal operation time slot andin the specific time slot, respectively, based on the specific time slotinformation stored in the storage device.

In accordance with a third aspect, the present invention provides amethod of controlling power saving state in an image forming apparatus,capable of changing state of conduction, after a lapse of a presettransition time without any prescribed operation made in a normal state,from the normal state to a power saving state of smaller powerconsumption. The method includes the steps of: storing, in a firststorage device, specific time slot information for distinguishing anormal operation time slot and a specific time slot; determining thetransition time in the normal operation time slot, based on operationalstatus of the normal operation time slot in the past of the imageforming apparatus; receiving and storing in a second storage devicesetting of the transition time in the specific time slot; and switchingthe state of conduction of the image forming apparatus, using thetransition time determined at the determining step and the transitiontime stored in the second storage device, in the normal operation timeslot and in the specific time slot, respectively, based on the specifictime slot information stored in the first storage device.

As described above, by the present invention, an image forming apparatusallowing efficient management of the energy saving operation pattern bycombining learning and manual setting, and attaining accurate result oflearning, as well as a controller for controlling the energy savingoperation pattern of the image forming apparatus can be provided.

Further, by the present invention, an image forming apparatus allowingefficient management of the energy saving operation pattern by combininglearning and manual setting, alleviating the burden on the person incharge at the time of setting, and preventing decrease in accuracy, aswell as a controller for controlling the energy saving operation patternof the image forming apparatus can be provided.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a graph showing an example of hourly wait time of an imageforming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing hourly variation in the number of outputs perhour and the number of jobs per hour.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram schematically showing an example ofa visually-friendly display of operational modes of the image formingapparatus in the image forming system in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing hardware configuration ofthe image forming apparatus in the image forming system of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 schematically shows an example of a network system configurationincluding the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing functions related to anoperational mode related to energy saving.

FIG. 7 shows an example of job logs recorded in the image formingapparatus of FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 shows an example of an energy saving setting screen used in theimage forming apparatus shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a panel used for setting a specific day on ascreen allowing energy saving setting of the specific day.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a panel used for setting an energy savingoperation pattern of a specific day, on the screen allowing energysaving setting of the specific day.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a panel used for setting a holiday on thescreen allowing energy saving setting of the specific day.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a screen displaying a list of holidays.

FIG. 13 shows data configuration for setting the energy saving patternsof specific days, used in the image forming apparatus in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart representing a control structure of a programdisplaying result of learning of the energy saving operation pattern inthe image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart representing a control structure of a program forvisually displaying time-change of the energy saving operation pattern,including the result of learning of the energy saving operation pattern,operational modes set by the user and the like, in the image formingapparatus shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 16 is a flowchart representing a controlstructure of a program for registering, in accordance with a userinstruction, whether the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is tobe operated in accordance with the schedule of energy saving operationpattern learned automatically, or to be operated in accordance with theschedule set by the user.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart representing a control structure of a program forsaving a user pattern, which is a schedule of the energy savingoperation pattern formed by the user, in the image forming apparatusshown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart representing a control structure of a program forupdating contents of energy saving settings displayed on a screen, inaccordance with a user selection, in the image forming apparatus shownin FIG. 4.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart representing a control structure of a program forupdating, when the user modifies the user pattern, the display inaccordance with the result of modification, in the image formingapparatus shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart representing a control structure of a program forautomatically learning the energy saving operation pattern of the imageforming apparatus, based on job logs over a prescribed time period inthe past other than the specific day, in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart representing a control structure of a programexecuted by the image forming apparatus in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention, to output the screen shown in FIGS. 9 to 11.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart representing a control structure of a specificday registering program executed by the image forming apparatus when OKbutton is pressed on the screen shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart representing a control structure of the programfor generating the default energy saving operation pattern for thespecific day.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of anetwork system 1100 in accordance with a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, the same components are denoted by thesame reference characters. Their functions and names are also the same.Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

[First Embodiment]

«Outline»

As described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, operational status of theimage forming apparatus of the system in accordance with the presentembodiment differs department by department, day by day of the week, andhour by hour of the day. Therefore, the time before the heating andfixing unit is set to the suspended state also differs day by day of theweek, hour by hour of the day and department by department where theimage forming apparatus is installed. Therefore, the image formingapparatus in accordance with the present embodiment learns energy savingoperation pattern automatically, from the operational status of eachtime of day (time slot) and each day of the week, as in '269 Reference.In order to solve the problem that it is difficult for the user to grasphow the apparatus operates, the image forming apparatus in accordancewith the present embodiment provides a user-friendly display showing theresult of learning in the form of a table, as represented by Table 50 ofFIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, Table 50 is a two-dimensional table. In Table 50,the abscissa represents days of the week and the ordinate representshours of the day, that is, 24 hours divided hour by hour.

In the image forming apparatus of the system in accordance with thepresent embodiment, each cell of Table 50 represents the energy savingoperation pattern set for that time slot of that day, by the color ofthe cell. Since FIG. 3 here is given in black-and-white, the colors arerepresented by different hatchings. By way of example, cell 66 is in a“high-performance” mode in which the apparatus is used with highestfrequency, and it corresponds to red in actual display. Cell 64 is in a“performance” mode, in which image forming apparatus 100 is used withrelatively high frequency, though not as high as in the “highperformance” mode, and this corresponds to pink in actual display. Cell62 represents a time slot of “balance” mode, in which the frequency ofuse is lower than the time slot of “performance” mode, and itcorresponds to pale blue. Cell 60 represents a time slot of “energysaving” mode having lowest frequency of use, and it corresponds togreen. Since the cells are displayed in different colors, the fourenergy saving operation patterns can clearly be understood visually. Nomatter whether Table 50 is displayed on a touch-panel display 130 ofimage forming apparatus 100 or on a display of a personal computer(hereinafter referred to as a PC) 190 for an administrator, theadministrator can easily and intuitively understand how image formingapparatus 100 is operating in each time slot.

If the energy saving operation pattern is “high performance,” the timefrom when the heating and fixing unit of the image forming apparatusstops operation until the apparatus makes a transition to a suspendedstate (hereinafter this time will be referred to as “transition time”)is the longest and, for example, it is one hour. If the pattern is“performance,” the transition time is the second longest, and it is set,for example, to 30 minutes. If the pattern is “balance,” the imageforming apparatus is shut-off in a much shorter time period than in the“performance” mode, for example, after 5 minutes. If the pattern is“power saving,” the image forming apparatus is shut-off in the shortesttime period after the end of operation, for example just after 10seconds.

Image forming apparatus 100 in accordance with the present embodimenthas a function of automatically learning such energy saving operationpatterns based on past job logs. Further, in order to enable the user tomanually set an energy saving operation pattern for a specific daydifferent from the days of which energy saving operation patterns aredetermined based on learning, image forming apparatus 100 has a functionallowing manual setting of such a specific day and the energy savingoperation pattern of image forming apparatus 100 for the specific day.Here, the energy saving operation pattern can be set manually time-slotby time-slot. The settable mode is any of the four modes mentionedabove. It is also possible to set using the result of learning. Duringlearning described above, the time slot or time slots of whichoperational mode is set manually (hereinafter such a time slot will bereferred to as “specific time slot”) of the specific day set in thismanner are not used as the object of learning, and in learning theenergy saving operation patterns of other days, the job logs of thespecific time slot of the specific day are not user for learning.

Details of these functions and the configurations to realize suchfunctions in the image forming apparatus of the system in accordancewith the present embodiment will be described later.

«Configuration»

The image forming apparatus forms an image on a sheet of recording paperby electrophotography. The image forming apparatus includes, as theoperational modes, copy mode, facsimile mode, document filing mode andmail mode. The image forming apparatus may also have a network printermode. The printing method is not limited to the electrophotography, andthe present invention is applicable to any printing method involving acomponent such as the heating and fixing unit that takes relatively longtime to return to the operable state once it is set to the suspendedstate.

<Image Forming Apparatus: Control Block Configuration>

Referring to FIG. 4, image forming apparatus 100 of the system inaccordance with the present embodiment includes a document reading unit(scanner) 102, an image forming unit 104, a FAX communication unit 160,a network interface (hereinafter interface will be denoted as UF) 170,and an operation unit 120, operating as a operation display panelallowing setting of functions related to various operational modes.Operation unit 120 includes a touch-panel display 130 and an operationkey portion 140. Touch-panel display 130 includes a display panel 132formed, for example of a liquid crystal panel, and a touch-panel 134arranged over display panel 132 allowing detection of a position pressedby a user's finger. On operation key portion 140, a few function keysand ten keys are arranged.

Referring to FIG. 4, image forming apparatus 100 further includes a CPU(Central Processing Unit) 166, a read only memory (ROM) 172 for storingprograms and the like, a hard disk 168 as a non-volatile storage capableof storing programs and data even when power is shut-off, and a randomaccess memory (RAM) 174 for providing a memory area when a program isexecuted.

Image forming apparatus 100 further includes a bus 176 connected todocument reading unit 102, image forming unit 104, FAX communicationunit 160, network OF 170, operation unit 120, CPU 166, ROM 172, harddisk 168 and RAM 174. CPU 166 loads a program stored in hard disk 168 orthe like to RAM 174 and executes the program, and thereby controlsvarious units and components of the image forming apparatus and realizesvarious functions for image formation.

Image forming apparatus 100 further includes a paper feed unit 106communicable with various units and components of image formingapparatus 100 through bus 176, for executing paper feed control relatedto image forming unit 104 in accordance with a command from CPU 166, anda paper discharge device 108, also connected to bus 176, for controllingdischarge of recording paper from image forming unit 104 in accordancewith a command from CPU 166.

In hard disk 168, files of image data of documents scanned by imageforming apparatus 100 are stored, folder by folder, with date of savingand name of the user who saved the data. Further, initial screen data ofvarious operational modes are stored in hard disk 168.

ROM 172 stores programs and data necessary for controlling theoperations of image forming apparatus 100. As data to be stored withprograms in ROM 172, initial screen data of various operational modesmay be stored. CPU 166 controls image forming apparatus 100 inaccordance with the programs and data stored in ROM 172, and executescontrol related to various functions of image forming apparatus 100.

As shown in FIG. 4, FAX communication unit 160 of image formingapparatus 100 is connected to a public line, and network OF 170 isconnected to a network line. To the network line, a computer or the likethat uses image forming apparatus 100 as a network compatible printer,or a computer or the like specified by an URL (Uniform Resource Locator)designated by the Internet may be connected. When connected to theInternet in this manner, image forming apparatus 100 can obtainnecessary information through the Internet. As will be described later,the result of learning of energy saving operation patterns and theenergy saving operation pattern of a specific day in image formingapparatus 100 can be confirmed, modified or added, through a computerfor the administrator on the network, as will be described later.

RAM 174 provides a function as a working memory temporarily storingresults of operations and processes by CPU 166, and a function as aframe memory for storing image data.

Document reading unit 102, image forming unit 104, touch-panel display130 and operation key portion 140 implementing operation unit 120, paperdischarge device 108, ROM 172, hard disk 168 and RAM 174 are controlledby CPU 166 executing a prescribed program or programs. Operation unit120 communicates with CPU 166 through input/output I/F.

Operation unit 120 is a plate-shaped panel, provided tilted to be easilyviewable by the user. On a surface of operation unit 120, touch-paneldisplay 130 is provided on a left side area, and operation key portion140 is provided on a right side area. Touch-panel display 130 andoperation key portion 140 are formed such that operation unit 120 as awhole is provided as an integrated piece.

<Learning of Energy Saving Operation Patterns>

In the following, the process for learning energy saving operationpatterns of image forming apparatus 100 will be described. Image formingapparatus 100 has the following characteristics: it automatically learnsenergy saving operation patterns based on job logs; it displays theresult of learning in a manner easily understandable by the user; itallows the user to set an energy saving operation pattern; it candisplay the set user mode together with the result of learning, in amanner easily understandable by the user; and it allows advanceregistration of a plurality of energy saving operation patterns that canbe set by the user. Referring to FIG. 5, typically, image formingapparatus 100 communicates with a plurality of PCs 190, 192, 194 and thelike through network system 180, and executes printing in accordancewith a print request from these PCs, transmits a image scanned by imageforming apparatus 100 to a specific server, or transmits the scannedimage as a mail to a desired mail address. Here, details of items notrelated to the setting of energy saving operation patterns will not bedescribed, for easier understanding.

Referring to FIG. 5, assume that PC 190 is for the administrator ofimage forming apparatus 100, and PCs 192 and 194 are for general users.The display and setting of energy saving operation patterns using Table50 as described with reference to FIG. 3 may be executed on operationunit 120 of image forming apparatus 100, though it may be moreconvenient if the display and setting can be changed also from PC 190for the administrator. Image processing apparatus 100 allows such aprocess.

FIG. 6 shows, as an energy saving setting unit 260, only the functionalportions related to the energy saving operational mode related to theenergy saving setting, extracted from image forming apparatus 100.Referring to FIG. 6, energy saving setting unit 260 includes: a logobtaining unit 270 obtaining, as job logs, record of operations of eachfunctional unit of image forming apparatus 100; a log storage unit 272storing job logs obtained by log obtaining unit 270; an auto patternupdating unit 274 activated by an externally applied trigger, forautomatically updating a schedule of energy saving operation pattern ofimage forming apparatus 100; a timer 276 for periodically (for example,at 0:00 every day) triggering the schedule updating process by autopattern updating unit 274; and a pattern storage unit 278 storing theschedule pattern of energy saving operation pattern formed (updated) byauto pattern updating unit 274, and applying it to the heating andfixing unit and the like of image forming unit 104. Auto patternupdating unit 274 does not use job logs of a specific time slot of aspecific day of each month designated by the user, when learning theenergy saving patterns of respective days of the week. Since the joblogs of a specific time slot of a specific day are excluded from thelearning data for pattern update, influence of the operation pattern ofthe specific time slot on the energy saving operation patterns otherthan the specific time slot of specific day can be prevented.

The energy saving operation pattern in the image forming apparatus ofthe system in accordance with the present invention is represented infour stages, day by day of the week and time-slot by time-slot, as willbe described below. These four stages are indicated by numerical values1, 2, 3 and 4. The energy saving operation pattern includes sevenrecords corresponding to the days of the week. Each record consists of aname (identifier) of the energy saving operation pattern to which therecord belongs, a value representing the day of the week, and a set ofvalues indicating the energy saving operation pattern slot by slot.Consider, for example, an example of Monday shown in FIG. 3. Theportions representing the time-slot by time-slot energy saving operationpattern of the record are “1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 4, 4, 3, 1, 2, 2,4, 2, 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1, 1.” If the energy saving operation pattern isnot yet established, such as at the time of shipment of the apparatus,the value representing the energy saving operation pattern assumes zero.

In the embodiment described in the following, a method in whichoperating days of the image forming apparatus are classified to sevenfirst groups on weekly basis and the energy saving operation pattern ofeach group is learned, and a method in which operating days of the imageforming apparatus are classified to 31 second groups based only on thedate of year, month and date, and by designating a specific group (thatis, specific date), and the energy saving operation pattern isdesignated manually, are both used. These methods of classification areexamples only, and other methods of classification are also possible. Byway of example, at a place of business working in cycles of ten days, itis reasonable to have ten first groups. At a place of business workingin bi-weekly cycles, it is reasonable to have fourteen first groups. Asto the second group, at a place of business in which specific work isdone every half year, for example, it is desirable to classify theoperating days to 6×31=186 groups. It is noted, however, that the mostcommon method is to classify the first group based on the days of theweek and the second group based only on the date.

Log storage unit 272, pattern storage unit 278 and the like are realizedby hard disk 168 shown in FIG. 4.

Energy saving setting unit 260 further includes a web server 280connected to network I/F 170. Web server 280 operates in image formingapparatus 100, to allow settings related to various functions of imageforming apparatus 100 on a browser base from an external PC. Web server280 has a function of allocating processes related to various externalrequests to appropriate programs or processing units in accordance withparameters associated with each request, and returning a web document asa result of processing to a browser. Here, for simplicity ofdescription, of the functional blocks processing external requeststhrough web server 280, those not related to settings of energy savingoperation patterns are not shown.

Energy saving setting unit 260 further includes: a display processingunit 286, responsive to an external request received through web server280, for reading an energy saving operation pattern schedule currentlyset in image forming apparatus 100 from pattern storage unit 278, andforming and returning a web document for visually displaying theschedule; an update processing unit 288 receiving a request for changingcontents of the schedule displayed on an external PC through web server280, for forming and returning a web document for visually displayingthe schedule of energy saving operation patterns determined inaccordance with the request; and a registration processing unit 290,responsive to an external request for setting a pattern of energy savingoperation schedule of image forming apparatus 100 received through webserver 280, for writing the set pattern to pattern storage unit 278.

Energy saving setting unit 260 further includes: a user pattern savingunit 292, processing a request by the user to form a pattern of energysaving operation schedule using an external PC through web server 280,and if saving of the pattern formed by the user is designated, savingthe pattern in a computer readable format; a table update processingunit 294, when a user is forming a pattern of an energy saving operationschedule on an external PC, through web server 280, for forming andreturning a web document for rewriting display of the energy savingoperation schedule on the external PC in accordance with a user input; auser pattern storage unit 284 for storing the user patterns saved byuser pattern saving unit 292 with a pattern name of each user pattern;and a setting storage unit 282 for storing settings related to theenergy saving operation patterns of image forming apparatus 100,including an auto flag indicating whether or not image forming apparatus100 is in an operational mode of automatically learning the energysaving operation pattern, a pattern name if the current energy savingoperation pattern schedule is a user pattern, and what process is to bedone if no job log exists for some time slots. Setting storage unit 282can be looked up from various units of energy saving setting unit 260,and each functional block operates based on setting information storedin setting storage unit 282. The information stored in setting storageunit 282 includes a method of calculating rate of operation used fordetermining the transition time, and a rule for determining how theenergy saving pattern is to be determined based on the rate ofoperation.

Table 1 below shows a method of calculating the rate of operation ofimage forming apparatus of the system in accordance with the presentembodiment. Table 2 shows the calculated rate of operation, the name ofenergy saving pattern adopted in accordance with the rate of operation,and the operation (transition time and the state after transition)corresponding to each energy saving pattern.

TABLE 1 Rate of operation Outputs/hour Job number/hour Wait time/hourHigh 300 or more 24 or more Shorter than 10 min. Relatively At least 50and At least 12 and At least 10 and high smaller than 300 smaller than24 shorter than 30 min. Middle At least 10 and At least 6 and At least30 and smaller than 50 smaller than 12 shorter than 50 min. Low Smallerthan 10 Smaller than 6 At least 50 min.

TABLE 2 Pattern name Operation Rate of operation High performanceSuspend after 1 hour High Performance Suspend after 30 min. Relativelyhigh Balance Shut-off after 5 min. Middle Power saving Shut-off inshortest Low time after job end

The auto flag represents the auto mode if it is 1 and manual mode if itis 0. It is desirable that 1 is set as a default value of the auto flag.The reason for this is that after the apparatus is installed actuallyuntil the administrator becomes able to grasp the operational status,automatic learning of the energy saving operation patterns is desirable.

Energy saving setting unit 260 further has: a function of allowing theuser to set a specific day; a function allowing a user to set an energysaving operation pattern of the specific day (hereinafter referred to asthe “specific day pattern”), a function allowing the user to set aholiday; a function of forming a default pattern for the specific daypattern; and a function of learning, when weekly energy saving operationpatterns are to be learned from logs, excluding the logs of the dayregistered as the specific day from the data for learning.

Specifically, energy saving setting unit 260 further includes: aspecific day setting screen generating unit 302 for generating a settingscreen (FIGS. 9 to 11) for setting the specific day; a specific dayregistering unit 300 for registering a specific day through interactionwith the user using a specific day registration screen 680 shown in FIG.9; a holiday registering unit 298 for registering a holiday using aholiday registration screen 830 shown in FIG. 11; and a specific daypattern registering unit 296 for registering a specific day patterndetermining an energy saving operation for the specific day using aspecific day pattern registration screen 720 shown in FIG. 10. Theseprocesses are selectively executed based on form data received by webserver 280, under the control of web server 280. Each processing unitexecutes the designated process and, thereafter, transmits a screenrepresenting the process result to a web browser of the counterpartterminal, to be displayed thereon. The screens output by specific dayregistering unit 300, holiday registering unit 298, and specific daypattern registering unit 296 are specific day registration screen 680,holiday registration screen 830 and specific day pattern registrationscreen 720 shown in FIGS. 9, 11 and 10, respectively.

Energy saving setting unit 260 further includes: a specific dayinformation storage unit 304, connected to specific day patternregistering unit 296, holiday registering unit 298, specific dayregistering unit 300 and specific day setting screen generating unit302, for storing the specific day pattern information, holidayinformation and specific day information, set by using specific daypattern registering unit 296, holiday registering unit 298 and specificday registering unit 300; and a default pattern generating unit 306,responsive to reception of a request for generating a default pattern ofthe specific day from specific day pattern registering unit 296, basedon the job logs stored in log storage unit 272 and specific dayinformation stored in specific day information storage unit 304, forreading logs of the day corresponding to the specific day of last month,generating a default energy saving operation pattern for the specificday and returning it to specific day pattern registering unit 296.

Referring to FIG. 7, job log 320 stored in log storage unit 272generally records, job by job, a job ID (identifier), a job mode, nameof the computer which entered the job and its user name, log-in name ofthe user, start date and time and end date and time when image formingapparatus 100 started and ended the job, day of the week when the jobwas started, and the number of sheets printed by the job. The functionof collecting such job logs 320 is provided as a standard function inrecent general image forming apparatuses, not only in image formingapparatus 100. Such job logs may be used to find the cause ofmalfunction of the image forming apparatus in case the apparatus fails,by confirming the past operations, to study which functions are to beenhanced at the next replacement by confirming job types, or to monitorwhich user uses the image forming apparatus at what frequency andconsumes how much paper. In the system in accordance with the presentembodiment, job logs 320 as such are used for learning the energy savingoperation patterns.

FIG. 8 shows the energy saving setting screen for setting the energysaving operation pattern in image forming apparatus 100 in accordancewith the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 8, the energy savingsetting screen includes: a registration button 350, an update button352, a mode selection radio buttons 354 and a pull-down menu 356 forsetting the user pattern name, displayed at a header portion, and anenergy saving operation pattern table 358 for visually displaying theenergy saving operation pattern currently set in image forming apparatus100 in the similar manner as the example of FIG. 3, displayed at thecentral portion.

At a tail portion of the screen, a check box 360 allowing the user toset whether a user pattern edition is to be done, a pull-down menu 362for selecting the energy saving mode, a pull-down menu 364 for selectinga day of the week, a start time pull-down menu 366 and an end timepull-down menu 368 for designating the time slot as the object ofsetting, which are activated if check box 360 is checked, and a tableupdate button 370 for outputting an instruction to update display ofenergy saving operation pattern table 358 in accordance with conditionsdesignated by these components, are displayed. Further below thesecomponents, a pattern name field 372 for the user to input a patternname when the user pattern is to be saved, a save button 374 used forinstructing saving of the user pattern, a registration button 380 andupdate button 382 are displayed.

At upper and lower portions of the screen shown in FIG. 8, buttons 660and 662 are arranged, for calling a screen (specific day operationsetting screen) allowing registration of information related to settingsof operations of image forming apparatus 100 on a specific day. Thespecific day information registration screen includes specific dayregistration screen 680 shown in FIG. 9, specific day patternregistration screen 720 shown in FIG. 10 and holiday registration screen830 shown in FIG. 11.

Referring to FIG. 9, specific day registration screen 680 includes: atab area 690 on which tabs allowing switching among panels of specificday registration screen 680, specific day pattern registration screen720 and holiday registration screen 830 are displayed; a registrationbutton 692 for instructing registration of the input specific dayinformation in specific day information storage unit 304 (FIG. 6) inimage forming apparatus 100; and first, second and third specific dayinformation designating areas 694, 696 and 698, for registering up tothree specific days.

Tab area 690 includes: a specific day tab 710 for displaying specificday registration screen 680; a pattern tab 712 for displaying specificday pattern registration screen 720; and a holiday tab 714 fordisplaying holiday registration screen 830.

The first, second and third specific day information designating areas694, 696 and 698 all have the same configuration. Therefore, firstspecific day information designating area 694 will be described as arepresentative, in the following.

The first specific day information designating area 694 includes: acheck box 730 for designating whether or not a first specific day is tobe registered; a specific day setting area 732 for entering informationspecifying the specific day; a pull-down menu 734 for selecting anoperation pattern (specific day pattern) of image forming apparatus 100for the specific day from a number of predetermined specific daypatterns and a default pattern (a pattern automatically set by imageforming apparatus 100), which will be described later; and a holidayoperation designating area 736 for designating whether the specific dayis to be moved forward, to be postponed, or to cancel holiday operation,if the specific day falls on a holiday.

Specific day setting area 732 includes: two radio buttons for selectingwhether a specific day of every month is to be designated by the dateitself or to be designated as end of month; and a pull-down menu forselecting the date, if it is to be designated by the date.

Holiday operation designating area 736 includes three radio buttons forselecting whether the designation of the specific day is to be movedforward, postponed, or cancelled, if the specific day falls on aholiday.

Referring to FIG. 10, specific day pattern registration screen 720includes, in addition to specific day tab 710, pattern tab 712, holidaytab 714 and registration button 692, a pattern identification area 750for designating the number of the specific day pattern and the name ofthe specific day pattern, a pattern display area 752 for displaying thecontents of set specific day pattern, and a schedule setting area 754for designating, for each of time slots provided by dividing one dayinto 24 hours, which of five possible operational modes is to beapplied, where the five possible operational modes include the pre-setfour operational modes and the setting designated by the method of thesystem in accordance with the present embodiment for the week. At thelowermost portion of specific day pattern registration screen 720, aregistration button 756 having the same function as registration button692 is displayed.

Pattern identification area 750 includes a pull-down menu 770 forselecting first to fifth specific day patterns as the object of setting,and a text field 772 for entering the pattern name of the specific daypattern as the object of setting. In the present embodiment, the patternname is limited to up to 20 single-byte or double-byte characters.

Pattern display area 752 includes: a schedule display area 790displaying operational mode schedule, for 24 hours on hourly basis, ofthe specific day pattern as the object of setting; a pull-down menu 792for designating a specific day pattern if any specific day patternusable as a source for the specific day pattern as the object of settingexists; and a copy execution button 794 used by the user when thespecific day pattern designated by pull-down menu 792 is to be copied asthe specific day pattern of the object of setting. As will be describedlater, pull-down menu 792 displays not only the first to fifth specificday patterns but also the number of a default pattern automaticallygenerated when a specific day is newly designated.

Schedule setting area 754 includes: a pull-down menu 812 for designatinga start time of the time slot as the object; a pull-down menu 814 fordesignating an end time; and five radio buttons 810 for designating theenergy saving operational mode to be set to the time slot designated bythe pull-down menus 812 and 814. The operational modes that can be setby five radio buttons 810 include first and second job start prioritymodes, first and second energy saving priority modes and an operationalmode in accordance with weekly setting.

In the first job start priority mode, if image forming apparatus 100 isleft without any operation for one hour after image forming apparatus100 was last used, the operational mode of image forming apparatus 100is changed to auto power shut-off In the second job start priority mode,if image forming apparatus 100 is left without any operation for 30minutes after image forming apparatus 100 was last used (that is, in theabsence of any event of operation), the operational mode of imageforming apparatus 100 is changed to auto power shut-off. In the firstpower saving priority mode, if image forming apparatus 100 is leftwithout any operation for five minutes after image forming apparatus 100was last used, the operational mode of image forming apparatus 100 ischanged to auto power shut-off. In the second power saving prioritymode, when any operation on image forming apparatus 100 ends, theoperational mode of image forming apparatus 100 is changed to auto powershut-off in shortest possible time period. In the operational mode inaccordance with the weekly setting, image forming apparatus 100 isoperated in accordance with the weekly schedule set by the similarprocess as executed in image forming apparatus 100 in the system inaccordance with the present embodiment.

Schedule setting area 754 further includes a schedule addition button816 operated by the user if the operational mode of a time slot set bypull-down menus 812 and 814 of the specific day pattern designated bypattern identification area 750 is to be set to the operational modedesignated by radio button 810. By selecting the time slot as the objectof processing using pull-down menus 812 and 814, selecting theoperational mode to be set using radio button 810 and pressing additionbutton 816, then, of the schedule displayed on schedule display area790, that portion which is designated by pull-down menus 812 and 814 ischanged to the color corresponding to the operational mode selected byradio button 810.

Referring to FIG. 11, holiday registration screen 830 includes: specificday tab 710; pattern tub 712; holiday tab 714; a button 840 fordisplaying a list of holidays; a day of the week designating area 842for designating a day of the week to be the holiday; a registrationbutton 862 for registering the holiday designated by the day of the weekin specific day information storage unit 304; a period designating area844 for designating specific days one by one in a prescribed timeperiod; and a registration button 890 for storing the specific daysdesignated by period designating area 844 as holidays in specific dayinformation storage unit 304.

On day of the week designating area 842, seven check boxes 860 aredisplayed, for designating whether each day of the week should bedesignated as a holiday.

Period designating area 844 includes: a pull-down menu 880 fordesignating, on the basis of three-months unit, the period in whichholidays are to be designated; a last registration time field 882displaying the date and time when the holiday of the period designatedby pull-down menu 880 was registered last time; a check-box columns inwhich check boxes for designating each day to be a holiday or not, foreach day in the three months designated by pull-down menu 880; an allselect button 886 for checking all check boxes displayed in check boxcolumns 884; and a selection cancel button 888 for cancelling checkingof all check boxes.

Referring to FIG. 12, a holiday list screen 910 displayed when button840 shown in FIG. 11 is pressed includes: OK buttons 920 and 926 forclosing this screen; an area 922 for displaying holidays designated bydays of the week; and an area 924 for displaying holidays designatedindividually by designating the period.

Referring to FIG. 13, specific day information 940 stored in specificday information storage unit 304 (see FIG. 6) includes: three specificday information records 950 for storing information related to threespecific days; specific day pattern records 952 storing informationrelated to four specific day patterns; a day of the week flag record 954storing whether or not each day of the week is designated as a holiday;and periodic holiday records 956 storing holidays designatedindividually by designating a period, for 24 months, on three-monthsbasis.

Specific day information records 950 are to store information designatedby specific day registration screen 680 (FIG. 9). Each record ofspecific day information records 950 includes: a use flag indicating ifthe specific day corresponding to the record is designated; the date ofspecific day; the number of specific day pattern used for the specificday; a holiday operation flag indicating whether the specific day is tobe moved forward, postponed or cancelled if the specific day falls on aholiday; and a date of last update of the specific day informationrecord 950. The date of specific day is designated by any of 1 to 31 or99. Namely, 1 to 31 indicates the designated date, and 99 indicates endof month. The holiday operation flag is indicated by any of three valuesfrom 0 to 2, where 0, 1 and 2 represent moving forward, postpone andcancel of the specific day, respectively.

Specific day pattern records 952 are for storing information set byspecific day pattern registration screen 720 (FIG. 10). Each recordincludes pattern number (1 to 4) of the specific day pattern, patternname, a sequence of hourly operational patterns of the designatedpattern, and date of last update of the pattern.

Day of the week flag record 954 is for storing information set by a dayof the week designating area 842, of holiday registration screen 830(FIG. 11). Day of the week flag record 954 includes seven flags preparedfor respective days of the week to indicate whether it is a holiday.

Periodic holiday records 956 are for storing information set by a perioddesignating area 844 of holiday registration screen 830 (FIG. 11). Eachrecord of periodic holiday records 956 includes day-by-day holidayarrangement of the first, second and third months corresponding to therecord, and information of the date and time of last registration.

<Program Configuration>

In the following, for simplicity of description, a configuration will bedescribed assuming that the energy saving operation pattern of imageforming apparatus 100 is set from an external PC through web server 280.It is noted, however, that the energy saving pattern can be set throughan interactive process using touch-panel display 130 of image formingapparatus 100 based on the same concept. If touch-panel display 130 ofimage forming apparatus 100 is used to activate a browser and to accessto web server 280, a program for stand-alone settings in image formingapparatus 100 is unnecessary.

Referring to FIG. 14, the program for realizing display processing unit286 shown in FIG. 6 is called and activated from a menu screen displayedwhen the web server of image forming apparatus 100 is logged-in. Theprogram includes: a step 330 of reading a setting related to the energysaving operation pattern among the settings of image forming apparatus100, from setting storage unit 282; a step 332 of outputting the headerportion of screen shown in FIG. 8; a step 334 of reading a schedule ofthe energy saving operation pattern currently being executed by imageforming apparatus 100 from pattern storage unit 278; a step 336 offorming and outputting a document for displaying energy saving operationpattern table 358 of FIG. 8 based on the information read at step 334;and a step 338 outputting the tail portion of the screen shown in FIG. 8and ending the process.

In the system in accordance with the present embodiment, the program isconfigured such that the document transmitted by the program through webserver 280 to the PC will be a web document and, therefore, the screenshown in FIG. 8 can be viewed on the PC using a common web browser.

Referring to FIG. 15, the program routine of step 336 shown in FIG. 14is also called by a process other than the present process and,therefore, it will be described here as a sub-routine. If this processis realized by a program language of script type format, it is preferredthat actually this portion of the program is prepared as an independentfile and at the time of execution, scripts in the file are included inanother program.

The program includes: a step 400 of outputting a table start tag fordisplaying energy saving operation pattern table 358 on the webdocument; a step 402 of repeating steps 404, 406, 408, 410 and 412,which will be described later, for every time slot, to form the body ofthe table; and a step 414 of ending the process by outputting a tableend tag, when repetition of step 402 is completed.

The process executed for each time slot at step 402 includes: a step 404of outputting a start tag of a row displaying information of the timeslot; a step 406 of outputting characters representing the time slot; astep 408 of repeating the following step 410 for each day of the weekfrom Monday to Sunday, to form one row of the table related to aspecific time slot; and a step 412 of outputting a row end tagindicating an end of a row formed at step 408. At step 410, start tagand end tag for each cell are output and, at that time, information fordesignating cell width to a fixed value, and information for designatingcell background color in accordance with the energy saving operationpattern allocated to the time slot of the day of the week, are embeddedin the start tag.

By executing the program shown in FIG. 15, such a display as representedby energy saving operation pattern table 358 shown in FIG. 8 can berealized.

(Registration Program)

The registration program shown in FIG. 16 is activated by web server 280when registration button 350 or 380 shown in FIG. 8 is pressed. Here,parameters in accordance with a value set for each element on the screenof FIG. 8 are passed as arguments to the program. The argumentsincludes: information as to whether auto mode or manual mode isdesignated as the operational mode; a user pattern name selected if themanual mode is selected; a flag (state of check box 360) indicatingwhether or not a user pattern is to be edited; and an energy savingpattern name (a result of selection of pull-down menu 362 for selectingthe energy saving mode), day of the week (a result of selection ofpull-down menu 364 for selecting the day of the week), a start time(start time pull-down menu 366) and an end time (end time pull-down menu368) of the time slot as the object of setting, which become effectiveif check box 360 is checked. Information of the pattern name field 372is not passed to this program.

The registration program includes: a step 420 of determining whether theauto mode or manual mode is designated, based on the argument; a step422 executed if the auto mode is designated, of storing 1 in the autoflag of setting storage unit 282; and a step 424 of executing an autopattern updating process (process by auto pattern updating unit 274shown in FIG. 6) to update the energy saving operation pattern based onthe latest job log.

The program further includes: a step 426, executed if it is determinedat step 420 that the operational mode is not the auto mode, of storing 0in the auto flag of setting storage unit 282 of FIG. 6; a step 428 ofreading the user pattern designated by the user from user patternstorage unit 284 shown in FIG. 6 and writing it in pattern storage unit278, based on the argument; and a step 430 of storing the pattern nameof the written user pattern in setting storage unit 282.

In this program, after steps 424 and 430, the control flows are mergedand a step 432 of reading the energy saving operation pattern that iscurrently being executed, stored in pattern storage unit 278 isexecuted. The program further includes: a step 434 of outputting theheader portion of energy saving setting screen shown in FIG. 8 based onthe result of step 432 and on setting conditions stored in settingstorage unit 282; a step 436 of forming energy saving operation patterntable 358; and a step 438 of outputting the tail portion and ending theprocess. What is executed at step 436 is the program shown in FIG. 15.

(User Pattern Saving Program)

The user pattern saving program shown in FIG. 17 is called by web server280 if save button 374 of FIG. 8 is pressed. At this time, argumentspassed to this program includes a specific value of the energy savingpattern corresponding to the displayed energy saving operation patterntable 358, and the user pattern name input to pattern name field 372.

The program includes: a step 450 of determining, based on the argument,whether or not the user pattern of the same name is stored in userpattern storage unit 284 (see FIG. 6); a step 452, executed if the samename exists, of updating the user pattern having the same name as theinput user pattern with the pattern represented by the energy savingoperation pattern table 358; a step 454, executed if the same name doesnot exist, of adding the pattern represented by the energy savingoperation pattern table 358 to user pattern storage unit 284; and a step456 of saving the added pattern name to an index area of user patternstorage unit 284.

In this program, after steps 452 and 456, the control flows are merged,and at step 458, the user pattern updated at step 452 or added at step454 is read from user pattern storage unit 284. Using the user pattern,the header portion is output (step 460), the table is formed and output(step 462), the tail portion is output (step 464), and the process ends.As a result of this process, the user pattern designated by the user tobe saved is saved in user pattern storage unit 284, and on the energysaving setting screen, the energy saving operation pattern table 358 inaccordance with the saved user pattern is displayed.

(Pattern Update)

Referring to FIG. 18, the program realizing update processing unit 288shown in FIG. 6 is activated when update button 352 or 382 shown in FIG.8 is pressed. The program includes: a step 480 of determining whetherthe designated operational mode is an auto mode or manual mode; a step482, executed if the designated operational mode is the auto mode, ofreading the energy saving operation pattern that is being executed frompattern storage unit 278; a step 484, executed if the designatedoperational mode is the manual mode (if the determination at step 480 isnegative), of determining whether or not a user pattern having thepattern name as an argument from pull-down menu 356 for setting the userpattern exists in user pattern storage unit 284; a step 486, executed ifthe user pattern of the designated pattern name exists, of reading thepattern from user pattern storage unit 284; and a step 500, executed ifthe user pattern of the designated pattern name does not exist, ofoutputting a header portion indicating an error.

In this program, after steps 482 and 486, the control flows are merged,and at step 488, the header portion is output. Thereafter, at step 502,the table is formed and output, the tail portion is output at step 504,and execution of the program ends. If the user pattern of the designatedpattern name does not exist (if determination at step 484 is negative),after executing step 500, the control flow is merged with step 502.

(Table Updating Program)

Referring to FIG. 19, the program for realizing table update processingunit 294 of FIG. 6 is activated when table update button 370 of FIG. 8is pressed. In FIG. 8, pull-down menu 362 for selecting the energysaving mode, pull-down menu 364 for selecting a day of the week,pull-down menu 366 for the start time, pull-down menu 368 for the endtime and table update button 370 are active only when check box 360 ischecked. If check box 360 is not checked, these components are inactiveand, hence, table update button 370 cannot be pressed and the programshown in FIG. 19 is not executed. When the program is activated, tabledata, energy saving pattern name, day of the week, start time and endtime as the source of energy saving operation pattern table 358 arepassed as arguments from web server 280.

The program includes: a step 520 of replacing the energy savingoperation pattern of a range designated by the start time and end timeof the day of the week designated by the arguments, of the energy savingoperation pattern data shown in energy saving operation pattern table358, with the energy saving operation pattern indicated by the energysaving pattern name; a step 522 of outputting the header portion basedon the energy saving operation pattern data updated in this manner; astep 524 of forming and outputting energy saving operation pattern table358; and a step 526 of outputting the tail portion and ending theprocess.

(Auto Pattern Update Program)

Referring to FIG. 20, the program for realizing auto pattern updatingunit 274 shown in FIG. 6 is executed periodically, using timer 276 shownin FIG. 6. In the system of the present embodiment, even if the autoflag is 0, that is, even if the apparatus is in a mode in which energysaving operation pattern is not automatically learned from theoperational status of image forming apparatus 100, the auto patternupdating process is executed and the results are saved. By thisapproach, it becomes possible to display the energy saving operationpattern updated in accordance with the actual operational status even ifthe apparatus is operating in the manual mode, and the administrator canuse it as a reference when setting image forming apparatus 100.

The program includes: a step 540 of reading, using date and time of joblogs stored in log storage unit 272 as a key, all job logs ofimmediately preceding specific time period (for example, one week); astep 970 of determining whether or not there is a designation of aspecific day, with reference to specific day information records 950shown in FIG. 13, and branching the control flow depending on the resultof determination; a step 972, executed if the determination at step 970is positive, of reading specific day pattern record 952, day of the weekflag record 954, and periodic holiday records 956 shown in FIG. 13, andusing only the job logs of days not designated as the specific day andonly the job logs of a time slot or time slots set to “follow weeklyschedule” of the job logs of the day designated as the specific day,counting and collecting the number of outputs, number of jobs and thewait time day by day of the week and time slot by time slot; and a step542 of counting the number of outputs of sheets of recording paper, thenumber of processed jobs and the total wait time day by day of the weekand time slot by time slot, based on the job logs read at step 540, andthereby calculating the rate of operation.

At step 972, if a specific day is set, auto pattern updating unit 274further reads specific day pattern record 952, day of the week flagrecord 954 and periodic holiday record 956 from specific day information940. Auto pattern updating unit 274 further specifies a day, for whichthe specific day pattern is set and the specific pattern is designated,based on the read information. Here, the date of specific dayinformation record 950 and the information read from day of the weekflag record 954 and periodic holiday record 956 are referred to, todetermine whether the day designated as the specific day in specific dayinformation record 950 falls on a holiday. If it is determined that thespecific day falls on a holiday, whether the specific day is to be movedforward, postponed or cancelled is determined, by checking the holidayoperation flag of specific day information record 950.

After the day or days on which the specific day schedule is to beexecuted are determined in this manner, auto pattern updating unit 274counts and collects, based on the logs obtained at step 540, the numberof outputs, the number of jobs and wait time of image forming apparatus100 day by day of the week and time slot by time slot, for the timeslots set to “follow the weekly setting” among the days on which thespecific day schedule is to be executed and all time slots of days notdesignated as specific day (step 972). From the result of this process,it is possible to calculated the rate of operation of image formingapparatus 100, for each of the time slots set to “follow the weeklyschedule” of the specific day and the time slots other than the specificday or days.

The program further includes: a step 544, executed following step 972 orstep 542, of repeating a process 546, which will be described later, foreach time slot of each day of the week; a step 562 of determiningwhether or not the auto flag stored in setting storage unit 282 (seeFIG. 6) is 1 or not; a step 564, executed if the auto flag is 1, ofupdating the energy saving operation pattern stored in pattern storageunit 278 with the energy saving operation pattern formed at step 544,and ending the process; and a step 566, executed if the auto flag is 0,of adding and storing the energy saving operation pattern formed at step544 as a back-up in user pattern storage unit 284, and ending theprocess. The energy saving operation pattern stored in user patternstorage unit 284 in this manner can be handled in the similar manner asthe user pattern, though it is automatically learned.

The process 546 executed on each time slot of each day of the week atstep 544 executes, for each time slot of the day of the week, steps 548,550, 552, 554, 556, 558 and 560, which will be described in thefollowing.

Process 546 includes: a step 548 of determining whether the number ofoutputs, the number of jobs and the wait time counted for the time slotof the day of the week satisfies any of the conditions to determine therate of operation to be “high”; a step 556, executed if it is determinedat step 548 that any of the conditions is satisfied, of setting theenergy saving operation pattern of the corresponding time slot of thecorresponding day of the week to “high performance” and ending theprocess for the time slot of the day of the week; a step 550, executedif it is determined that none of the conditions is satisfied at step548, of determining whether or not the result of counting satisfies anyof the conditions to determine the rate of operation to be “relativelyhigh”; a step 552, executed if it is determined at step 550 that any ofthe conditions is satisfied, of setting the energy saving operationpattern of the corresponding time slot of the corresponding day of theweek to “performance” and ending the process for the time slot of theday of the week; a step 552, executed if it is determined that none ofthe conditions is satisfied at step 550, of determining whether or notthe result of counting satisfies any of the conditions to determine therate of operation to be “middle”; a step 560, executed if it isdetermined at step 552 that any of the conditions is satisfied, ofsetting the energy saving operation pattern of the corresponding timeslot of the corresponding day of the week to “balance” and ending theprocess for the time slot of the day of the week; and a step 554,executed if it is determined that none of the conditions is satisfied atstep 552, of setting the energy saving operation pattern of thecorresponding time slot of the corresponding day of the week to “powersaving” and ending the process for the time slot of the day of the week.

(Program for Generating Specific Day Setting Screen)

The program realizing the process of displaying the specific dayregistration screen 680 shown in FIG. 9 when button 660 or 662 shown inFIG. 8 is pressed (corresponding to the function of specific day settingscreen generating unit 302) has the following control structure. Theprogram operates on the server side, and it has a function of generatingHTML source including scripts allowing switching and displaying specificday registration screen 680 shown in FIG. 9, specific day patternregistration screen 720 shown in FIG. 10 and holiday registration screen830 shown in FIG. 11, and transmitting the source to a counterpartterminal through web server 280.

Referring to FIG. 21, the program includes: a step 990 of readingspecific day information 940 (see FIG. 13) from specific day informationstorage unit 304 shown in FIG. 6; a step 992 of generating HTML sourcefor displaying specific day registration screen 680 (FIG. 9) based onthe information read from specific day information records 950 from theinformation read at step 990; a step 994 of generating HTML source fordisplaying the specific pattern registration screen 720 (FIG. 10) basedon the information read from specific day pattern records 952 from theinformation read at step 990; a step 996 of generating HTML source fordisplaying holiday registration screen 830 (see FIG. 11) based on theinformation read from day of the week flag records 954 and periodicholiday records 956 from the information read at step 990; a step 998 ofwriting a specific variable and its value in HTML document such thatwhen the HTML source generated in this manner is to be displayed usingthe browser of the counterpart terminal, the script first displayed byspecific day registration screen 680 is executed; and a step 1000 oftransmitting the HTML source form generated in this manner through theweb server to the counterpart terminal and ending the process.

Specific day registration screen 680 shown in FIG. 9, specific daypattern registration screen 720 shown in FIG. 10 and holidayregistration screen 830 shown in FIG. 11 are each screen displaying theHTML source consisting of one or a plurality of forms. In each form, afile name of a program to be executed next through web server 280 when aprescribed button in the form is pressed is described. When the buttonis pressed, the file name to be executed next is transmitted to the webserver together with the data to be processed by the program, andprocessed. Such a process is well known as a form process by the webserver.

Switching among specific day registration screen 680, specific daypattern registration screen 720 and holiday registration screen 830 isexecuted by pressing specific day tab 710, pattern tab 712 and holidaytab 714, as described above. This switching is realized by classifyingUI components forming respective screens to groups, and setting propertyof each UI component such that when a certain tab is pressed, only theUI components of the screen corresponding to the tab are displayed andUI components of other screens are not displayed. This process isrealized by a script executed on the browser on the terminal side. It isnoted, however, that the script itself is formed by image formingapparatus 100 in the program shown in FIG. 21 and embedded in the HTMLsource.

It is also possible to form specific day registration screen 680,specific day pattern registration screen 720 and holiday registrationscreen 830 by separate programs. In that case, when each of the tabs ispressed on the browser of counterpart terminal, the correspondingprogram is activated in image forming apparatus 100, and the screencorresponding to the pressed tab is transmitted to the browser of thecounterpart terminal.

Specific day pattern registration screen 720 of FIG. 10, and holidayregistration screen 830 of FIG. 11 can be realized based on the sameconcept as a master maintenance program of a common system. In thepresent embodiment, however, specific day registration screen 680 shownin FIG. 9 may involve a process for generating a default specific daypattern to assist the user in forming the specific day pattern, inaddition to the common process of master maintenance.

An operator setting the specific day and the specific time slot mustdesignate the specific day and specific date and time, as well as anoperation pattern of the date and time. Though the specific day andspecific time slot can be set relatively easily, it is not always clearfor the operator what operation pattern is good for the date and time.In consideration of such a situation, in the present embodiment, imageforming apparatus 100 automatically provides a fairly appropriatedefault operation pattern. Since image forming apparatus 100 has such afunction, burden on the operator can be alleviated. Further, since thedefault values are obtained by processing job logs, values not exactlymatching the operator's intention but “pretty close” can be set.

Here, in the present embodiment, the specific day is designated onmonthly basis, as described above. Therefore, different from a commonenergy saving operation patterns that are counted weekly, the defaultpatterns must be counted monthly. A control structure of a programexecuting such a process will be described with reference to FIGS. 22and 23.

Specifically, as a method of realizing this process, an item “defaultsetting” is provided in pull-down menu 734, on specific day registrationscreen 680 of FIG. 9 described above. If the user selects “defaultsetting” of pull-down menu 734 and presses registration button 692, adefault operation pattern is generated by the program of which controlstructure will be described in the following, and it is set as theoperation pattern of the designated specific day.

(Registration of Specific Day)

The program of which control structure is shown in FIG. 22 (realizingthe function corresponding to specific day registering unit 300 of FIG.6) is executed in image forming apparatus 100, when the user pressesregistration button 692 on specific day registration screen 680.Referring to FIG. 22, the program includes: a step 1020 of determiningwhether or not a check box 730 (see FIG. 9) of a first specific day ischecked or not, and if it is not checked, skipping the process for thefirst specific day and proceeding to the process of a second specificday; a step 1022, executed if the result of determination at step 1020is positive, of determining whether or not the default menu isdesignated by pull-down menu 734; and a step 1024, executed if thedetermination at step 1022 is positive, of executing a prescribedroutine (as will be described later) to generate a default pattern forthe first specific day (realizing the function corresponding to defaultpattern generating unit 306 of FIG. 6). To the default pattern generatedhere, a tentative pattern number is allocated, and the correspondingspecific day pattern record is temporarily generated. If thedetermination at step 1022 is negative, the control proceeds to step1026. Similarly, if the determination at step 1022 is negative and theexecution of step 1024 ends, the control proceeds to step 1026. At step1026, the record of first specific day is updated in accordance with aninput. Here, if any of the specific day patterns is designated bypull-down menu 734, the specific day pattern is input to the “usedpattern number” of specific day information record 950. If the defaultpattern is designated by pull-down menu 734, the tentative patternnumber generated at step 1024 is designated as the “used number.”

When the process at step 1026 ends, the control proceeds to step 1028.If the determination at step 1020 is negative, the control also proceedsto step 1028. At step 1028, the process similar to the steps 1020 to1026 is executed on the second specific day. The object of processinghere is the information input to the second specific day informationdesignating area 696 of FIG. 9.

If the process on the second specific day ends in the similar manner,the process for the third specific day is executed at step 1030. Theobject of processing is information input to the third specific dayinformation designating area 698 of FIG. 9.

When step 1030 ends, at step 1032, specific day registration screen 680shown in FIG. 9 is displayed with the contents reflecting the results ofprocessing at steps 1020 to 1030. If default patterns are designated,the patterns must be modified by specific day pattern registrationscreen 720 shown in FIG. 10 and allocated to the first to fifth specificday patterns. Therefore, a message to that effect is displayed on thescreen of FIG. 9, and pattern numbers allocated tentatively to thedefault patterns may be emphasized. Looking at the tentative patternnumbers, the operator designates the tentative pattern numbers inpull-down menu 792 of FIG. 10 and clicks copy execution button 794,whereby it is possible to set the first to fifth specific day patternsto initial values in accordance with the designated default pattern andto modify them to desired patterns.

The default pattern or patterns formed in this manner must be erased atsome stage. Possible timing of deletion may be when the default patternnumber is no longer stored in any of the specific day pattern numbers ofthe first to third specific days.

Referring to FIG. 23, at step 1024 of FIG. 22, a program having such acontrol structure as described below is executed. Referring to FIG. 23,at step 1050, of the job logs stored in log storage unit 272 shown inFIG. 6, logs of past one month are read. At the next step S1052, foreach time slot of a day corresponding to the day designated as thespecific day, the number of outputs from image forming apparatus 100,the number of jobs processed by image forming apparatus 100, and waittime of image forming apparatus 100 are counted, respectively.Thereafter, at step 1054, a prescribed process is done for each timeslot.

The process executed for each time slot at step 1054 includes: a step1056 of determining whether or not the result of counting in the timeslot as the object of processing among the results of counting at step1052 satisfies any of the conditions to determine the rate of operationto “high”; a step 1058, executed if it is determined at step 1056 thatany of the conditions is satisfied, of setting the energy savingoperation pattern of the corresponding time slot to “high performance”and ending the process for the time slot; a step S1060, executed if itis determined at step 1056 that none of the conditions is satisfied, ofdetermining whether or not the result of counting satisfies any of theconditions to determine the rate of operation to “relatively high”; astep 1062, executed if it is determined at step 1060 that any of theconditions is satisfied, of setting the energy saving operation patternof the corresponding time slot to “performance” and ending the processfor the time slot; a step 1064, executed if it is determined at step1060 that none of the conditions is satisfied, of determining whether ornot the result of counting satisfies any of the conditions to determinethe rate of operation to “middle”; a step 1066, executed if it isdetermined at step 1064 that any of the condition is satisfied, ofsetting the energy saving operation pattern of the corresponding timeslot to “balance” and ending the process for the time slot; and a step1068, executed if it is determined at step 1064 that none of theconditions is satisfied, of setting the energy saving operation patternof the corresponding time slot to “power saving” and ending the processfor the time slot.

If the process steps 1056 to 1068 are completed for every time slot atstep 1054, at step 1070, a tentative pattern number is allocated to theresulting pattern and the pattern is output to pattern storage unit 278of FIG. 6, and its file name with its path and the pattern number areoutput to specific day information storage unit 304, and the processends. The tentative pattern number is returned to the main routine shownin FIG. 22, and input, for example, as the pattern number of the firstspecific day at step 1026.

«Operation»

Image forming apparatus 100 operates in the following manner. In thefollowing description, of various functions of image forming apparatus100, only the operations related to energy saving setting unit 260 willbe described, and description of other common functions will not berepeated.

«Log Collection»

When image forming apparatus 100 is powered on, log obtaining unit 270starts to obtain job logs of image forming apparatus 100. The job logsare stored in log storage unit 272.

<Pattern Auto Update Process>

Timer 276 counts time and activates auto pattern updating unit 274 onceevery hour.

Referring to FIG. 20, auto pattern updating unit 274 obtains logs ofimmediately preceding prescribed time period (in the system of thepresent embodiment, one week) from log storage unit 272 (step 540), andexecutes the following process. First, auto pattern updating unit 274counts the number of outputs, the number of jobs and the wait time ofimage forming apparatus 100 day by day of the week and time slot by timeslot (step 542). From the results of this process, the rate of operationcan be calculated. Further, for each of the day of the week from Mondayto Sunday, steps 548 to 554 are repeated. By this process, the energysaving operation pattern of each time slot of each day of the week isset.

Thereafter, at step 562, whether or not the auto flag is 1 isdetermined. If the result is positive, the energy saving operationpattern stored in pattern storage unit 278 is updated with the newlycalculated energy saving operation pattern (step 564), and the processends. If the result of determination at step 566 is negative, the newlycalculated energy saving operation pattern is stored as a backup patternin user pattern storage unit 284 (step 566), and the process ends.

The updating process of pattern storage unit 278 is completed in thismanner.

<Display and Updating of Energy Saving Operation Pattern>

When a user logs in to image forming apparatus 100 from PC 190 for theadministrator shown in FIG. 5, for example, a menu for the administratorof image forming apparatus 100 is displayed (not shown) on the screen ofPC 190 for the administrator. On this menu, there is displayed an item“Display and Update of Energy Saving Operation Pattern.” If the userselects this item, the request is applied through web server 280 shownin FIG. 6 to display processing unit 286. Specifically, the programshown in FIG. 14 is activated.

Display processing unit 286 first reads various settings stored insetting storage unit 282 (step 330 of FIG. 14). The settings include thetable for calculating rate of operation, the table for setting energysaving pattern, the auto flag, and the energy saving operation patternthat is currently used. Thereafter, display processing unit 286 formsthe header portion of energy saving setting screen shown in FIG. 5 basedon the read settings, and outputs the same (step 332). The output istransmitted through web server 280 to PC 190 for the administrator, anddisplayed by the web browser operating on PC 190 for the administrator.At step 334, display processing unit 286 reads the energy savingoperation pattern that is being currently executed from pattern storageunit 278 (step 334). In accordance with the read energy saving operationpattern, at step 336, the display of energy saving operation patterntable 358 shown in FIG. 8 is formed and output. The display is alsotransmitted through web server 280 to PC 190 for the administrator, andadditionally displayed on the screen, by the browser of PC 190 for theadministrator. As a result, on the window of the browser of PC 190 forthe administrator, the header portion and the energy saving operationpattern table 358 (see FIG. 8) are displayed. Further, displayprocessing unit 286 adds the tail portion. This display is also appliedthrough web server 280 to the browser of PC 190 for the administrator,and displayed. As a result, such a screen as shown in FIG. 8 isdisplayed on PC 190 for the administrator.

When the display data is formed, display processing unit 286 displaysmode selection radio buttons 354 and pull-down menu 356 for setting userpattern name in accordance with the settings. Check box 360 is notchecked, and pull-down menu 362 for selecting energy saving mode,pull-down menu 364 for selecting day of the week, pull-down menu 366 forthe start time and pull-down menu 368 for end time, as well as tableupdate button 370 are inactive and grayed-out.

Here, operations available to the user include (A) switching betweenauto mode and manual mode (mode switching), (B) edition and saving ofuser pattern, and (C) changing (registration) of energy saving operationpattern to be set in image forming apparatus 100.

These options will be described in the following.

(A) Mode Switching

When the user switches the mode to be used, the user presses the radiobutton of the mode to be selected, of the mode selection radio buttons354. If the selected mode is the manual mode, further, the user selectswhich pattern is to be used, by pull-down menu 356 for setting the userpattern name.

When the user presses update button 352, update processing unit 288shown in FIG. 6 is activated, and energy saving operation pattern table358 is updated in the following manner.

Referring to FIG. 18, at step 480, whether or not the selected mode isthe auto mode is determined. If the result is positive, the energysaving operation pattern that is being executed is read from patternstorage unit 278, and if the result is negative, the user patterndesignated by pull-down menu 356 for setting user pattern name is readfrom user pattern storage unit 284.

After steps 482 and 486, control flows are merged, and at step 488, theheader portion is output. In accordance with the read pattern, energysaving operation pattern table 358 is output at step 502 in accordancewith the read pattern, the tail portion is output at step 504, and theprocess ends.

By this process, if the auto mode is designated, the energy savingoperation pattern learned from the logs is displayed on energy savingoperation pattern table 358, and if the manual mode is designated, thedesignated user pattern is displayed on energy saving operation patterntable 358.

(B) Edition and Saving of User Pattern

If the user clicks check box 360 while the schedule of energy savingoperation pattern is displayed on energy saving operation pattern table358, check box 360 is checked, and pull-down menu 362 for selectingenergy saving mode, pull-down menu 364 for selecting day of the week,pull-down menu 366 for the start time and pull-down menu 368 for endtime, as well as table update button 370 are activated. This process isexecuted not on the server side but on the web browser side of theclient.

Of the cells displayed on energy saving operation pattern table 358, theuser designates the day of the cell of which setting is desired bypull-down menu 364 for selecting day of the week, designates the timeslot by pull-down menu 366 for the start time and pull-down menu 368 forend time, and sets the energy saving pattern to be set for the cell bypull-down menu 362 for selecting energy saving mode. Then, when the userpresses table update button 370, table update request is transmitted tothe server, and the process for updating the table in accordance withthe user input is executed. Specifically, table update processing unit294 shown in FIG. 6 is activated, and the program shown in FIG. 19 isexecuted.

Referring to FIG. 19, of the data currently displayed on energy savingoperation pattern table 358, to each cell of the day and time slotdesignated by the user input, a value indicating the designated energysaving pattern is input (step 520). Thereafter, by steps 522, 524 and526, the screen shown in FIG. 8 is again formed with the modifiedvalues, and using web server 280, the thus formed screen is displayed bythe browser of the client.

If the user repeats the process described above and forms a desiredpattern, the user has the user pattern stored in user pattern storageunit 284. For this purpose, the user displays a desired user patternname in pattern name field 372, and presses save button 374 shown inFIG. 8. As a result, a request for saving the user pattern istransmitted to web server 280, and user pattern saving unit 292 isactivated. User pattern saving unit 292 executes the program shown inFIG. 17. It is noted that in pattern name field 372, the user patternname displayed on energy saving operation pattern table 358 is displayedas a default.

Referring to FIG. 17, at step 450, whether or not the user patternhaving the same name as the user pattern name input by the user hasalready been stored in user pattern storage unit 284 is determined. Ifthe result is positive, the user pattern having the same name stored inuser pattern storage unit 284 is updated with the user pattern input bythe user (step 452). If the result of step 450 is negative, a new userpattern is added to user pattern storage unit 284 (step 454), and theuser pattern name designated by the user is saved in the index of userpattern storage unit 284 (step 456).

After steps 452 and 456, the control flow merges, and the patternupdated at step 452 or added at step 454 is read from user patternstorage unit 284 (step 458), the energy saving setting screen is formedin accordance with the pattern through steps 460, 462 and 464, and theformed screen is displayed by the browser of PC 190 for theadministrator. Then, the process ends.

The edition and saving of the user pattern are completed in theabove-described manner.

(C) Setting of Energy Saving Operation Pattern

When the pattern called by update button 352 is to be set in imageforming apparatus 100, the user presses registration button 350. As aresult, a request for registering the pattern is transmitted to webserver 280 shown in FIG. 6, and registration processing unit 290 isactivated. Registration processing unit 290 executes a program of whichcontrol structure is shown in FIG. 16.

Referring to FIG. 16, in the registration process, whether the energysaving operational mode designated by the user is the auto mode or not(manual mode) is determined (step 420). If the result of determinationis positive, the auto flag stored in setting storage unit 282 is updatedto 1 (step 422), and the auto pattern updating process shown in FIG. 20is executed (step 424). If the result of determination at step 420 isnegative, the auto flag is updated to 0 (step 426), the user patterndesignated by the user is written to pattern storage unit 278 (step428), and the pattern name of the written pattern is saved as the nameof the pattern that is currently being executed, in setting storage unit282.

After steps 424 and 430, the control flow merges, the pattern that iscurrently being executed is read from pattern storage unit 278 (step432), the energy saving setting screen (FIG. 8) in accordance with thepattern is formed through steps 434, 436 and 438, and the screen istransmitted to the client. Then, the process ends.

In the system of the present embodiment as such, the energy savingoperation pattern is automatically determined on weekly basis. Sincemost of the business activities are on weekly basis, determination ofpatterns week by week is reasonable. It is noted, however, that not allbusiness activities are on the weekly basis. By way of example, aspecific day of each month may be very busy and, in that case, it may bebetter to specify the energy saving operation pattern on monthly basis.Further, it may be necessary in some cases to determine the energysaving operation pattern on annual basis. If such a particular dayexists, the energy saving operation pattern determined on weekly basismay be irrelevant. Therefore, for such a particular day, the energysaving operation pattern may be set manually.

If the method of automatically learning the energy saving operationpatterns and the method of setting the energy saving operation patternmanually for the specific day are used mixed with each other, theaccuracy of learning the energy saving operation pattern undesirablydecreases.

By way of example, a day of the week generally set to the pattern havingpriority on energy saving operation (for example, Wednesday) may becomevery busy if it is the end of the month. To cope with such a situation,it may be possible to set the energy saving operation pattern manuallyif the end of the month is Wednesday.

This approach, however, leads to the following problem. Assume that theend of the month happens to be Wednesday. Since end of the month is abusy time, considerably large amount of logs are recorded. When the timecomes to automatically set the energy saving pattern for Wednesdays, thelogs of other Wednesdays (not so busy) and the logs of thisend-of-the-month Wednesday are read, and based on these logs, the energysaving operation pattern for Wednesdays is set. As a result, if a day ofthe week is generally not so busy but end of the month happens to fallon that day of the week during the period of log collection for settingthe energy saving operation pattern, the setting of energy savingoperation pattern could be deviated from the appropriate setting withpriority on energy saving to the setting with priority on efficiency.

In order to realize energy saving in an efficient manner, such a problemshould be avoided. Operations required of the user for this purposeshould desirably be as simple as possible. Further, there is also aproblem of holidays in business activities. In the example above, evenif the end of the month falls on Wednesday, the day may be not busy ifit is a holiday of the company. The day before the holiday, or the dayafter the holiday may the busy day. The system could be busy even if itis a holiday, depending on situations. In other words, there is aproblem of how to process the logs and to calculate the energy savingpattern, if the specific day as described above falls on a holiday.

Image forming apparatus 100 in accordance with the present embodimentoperates in the following manner to solve the above-described problem.

<Registration of Specific Day>

When a user is to register a specific day, he/she accesses the webserver of image forming apparatus 100 from the browser of PC 190, forexample. Then, the energy saving setting screen shown in FIG. 8 isdisplayed. The operation of image forming apparatus 100 when various UIcomponents, other than buttons 660 and 662, displayed on this screen areoperated is the same as that of image forming apparatus 100 of thesystem in accordance with the present embodiment. Here, assume that theuser clicks button 660 or 662.

By this operation, from the browser of PC 190 to web server 280 of imageforming apparatus 100, a request designating a file name of the programfor realizing a specific day setting screen generating unit 302 istransmitted. Receiving this request, web server 280 selects a programexecuting module in accordance with the extension of designated filename, and passes the file name to the executing module. Receiving thefile name, the executing module reads the file designated by the filename from hard disk 168 (see FIG. 4), and analyzes and executes scriptsincluded in the file. Depending on the executing module, the designatedfile may be a binary object file.

The program related to button 660 or 662 is the one having such acontrol structure as shown in FIG. 21. When CPU 166 (see FIG. 4)executes the program, specific day setting screen generating unit 302 ofFIG. 6 is realized. Specifically, each of the steps shown in FIG. 21 isexecuted by CPU 166, and the HTML source for displaying specific dayregistration screen 680 shown in FIG. 9 is formed and transmitted to thebrowser of PC 190. On the browser of PC 190, specific day registrationscreen 680 shown in FIG. 9 is displayed. Here, the HTML sourcetransmitted from image forming apparatus 100 to PC 190 includes not onlythe HTML source for displaying specific day registration screen 680 butalso the HTML source for displaying specific day pattern registrationscreen 720 of FIG. 10 and holiday registration screen 830 of FIG. 11, aswell as scripts for switching the screens on the client side byoperating specific day tab 710, pattern tab 712 and holiday tab 714. Inthe state shown in FIG. 9, of these, only the UI components formingspecific day registration screen 680 are shown, and other UI componentsare not displayed. If pattern tab 712 is pressed, the UI componentsforming specific day registration screen 680 and holiday registrationscreen 830 are hidden and only the UI components forming specific daypattern registration screen 720 are displayed. When holiday tab 714 ispressed, only the UI components forming holiday registration screen 830are displayed, and UI components forming specific day registrationscreen 680 and specific day pattern registration screen 720 are hidden.

Referring to FIG. 9, assume that the user checks check box 730, sets aspecific day in specific day setting area 732, and designates the“default pattern” using pull-down menu 734. Here, as an operation whenthe specific day falls on a holiday, “move forward” is selected. Aftersetting these, the user clicks registration button 692.

Registration button 692 is related to the program having the controlstructure of FIG. 22, and a request designating the file name of theprogram is transmitted from PC 190 to image forming apparatus 100. Inimage forming apparatus 100, the program having the control structureshown in FIG. 22 is executed. In this example, through the path of steps1020 and 1022, step 1024 is executed.

At step 1024, the program having the control structure of FIG. 23 isexecuted. Through steps 1050 and 1052, the job logs of the specific daydesignated by specific day setting area 732 of FIG. 9 (in this example,the corresponding day of the last month) are read from job log storageunit 272 (see FIG. 6), and the job logs are processed through steps 1054to 1068, whereby a default pattern is generated. To this defaultpattern, a tentative pattern number is allocated as the pattern numberand pattern name. At step 1024, the generated default pattern record isadded to specific day pattern records 952 of FIG. 13. At the followingstep 1026, on the record corresponding to the first specific day amongthe specific day information records 950 in specific day informationstorage unit 304, the used flag (on), date, the tentative pattern numberallocated to the default pattern, the designated holiday operation flag(in this example, “0”), and the date and time when the process isexecuted, are recorded.

In this example, at steps 1028 and 1030, nothing is generated. Finally,at step 1032, based on the updated information, the process similar tothat of FIG. 21 is executed again, and the HTML source for displayingspecific day registration screen 680 shown in FIG. 9 is generated andtransmitted to PC 190.

If any of the patterns prepared in advance (the first to fifth specificday patterns, the pattern entirely set to the second energy savingpriority mode (refer to the description of radio button 810 of FIG. 10),and the pattern in which 8:00 to 18:00 are in the first energy savingpriority mode and 18:00 to 8:00 are in the second energy saving prioritymode) is selected, the process of step 1024 is not executed. At step1026, the designated pattern number is input to “used pattern number” ofspecific day information record 950 corresponding to the first specificday.

If the user wishes to modify the default pattern formed for the firstspecific day, the user presses pattern tab 712 on specific dayregistration screen 680 shown in FIG. 9. Then, specific day patternregistration screen 720 of FIG. 10 is displayed. When the number ofspecific day pattern to be modified is designated using pull-down menu770, the registered pattern corresponding to the selected specific daypattern is displayed on schedule display area 790. When the tentativepattern number of the default pattern formed for the first specific dayis selected by pull-down menu 792 and copy execution button 794 ispressed, the default pattern that has been formed for the first specificday is displayed on schedule display area 790.

The user selects the time slot to be modified, from the slot-by-slotoperational modes displayed on schedule display area 790 using pull-downmenus 812 and 814, designates a new operational mode from radio buttons810, and presses addition button 816. Then, in the schedule display area790, the operational mode of the designated time slot is replaced by thedesignated operational mode. After the desired pattern is formed in thismanner, the user presses registration button 692 or 756. Then, of thespecific day pattern records 952 shown in FIG. 13, the record ofspecific day pattern designated by pull-down menu 770 of specific daypattern registration screen 720 is updated in accordance with thecontents input to specific day pattern registration screen 720. Thedisplay of specific day pattern registration screen 720 is also updatedin accordance with the result.

After the specific day pattern is modified based on the default pattern,the specific day pattern after modification is designated in pull-downmenu 734 for the first specific day, on specific day registration screen680 shown in FIG. 9. Then, as the energy saving operation pattern of theday designated by specific day setting area 732, the pattern originatedfrom the pattern based on the job logs of the same day last month can beregistered.

If the user wishes to change holiday setting, the user presses holidaytab 714. Then, holiday registration screen 830 shown in FIG. 11 isdisplayed on the browser window. The contents displayed here reflect thecontents registered in day of the week flag records 954 and periodicholiday records 956 of specific day information 940 (FIG. 13). It isnoted, however, that the period displayed here (specified by pull-downmenu 880) is three months including the date of operation in the presentembodiment. When the user checks or unchecks check boxes of respectivedays of the week to be designated or not to be designated as a holidayin day of the week designating area 842 and presses registration button862, day of the week flag records 954 are updated in accordance with theuser operation. When the user operates pull-down menu 880 of FIG. 11 andselects a period to be set, holiday registering unit 298 reads therecord corresponding to the selected period from periodic holidayrecords 956 of specific day information 940, and updates the perioddesignating area 844 in accordance with the contents. When the userchecks or unchecks check boxes of period designating area 844 andpresses registration button 890, of the periodic holiday records 956 ofspecific day information 940, the contents of the record designated bypull-down menu 880 are updated in accordance with the contents of checkbox columns 884. Holiday registering unit 298 updates holidayregistration screen 830 in accordance with the result of update.

When the user wishes to view the list of set holidays, he/she pressesbutton 840 of holiday registration screen 830 of FIG. 11. Then, holidayregistering unit 298 reads day of the week flag records 954 and periodicholiday records 956 of FIG. 13, in accordance with the results,generates HTML source of holiday list screen 910 shown in FIG. 12 andtransmits it to the browser of PC 190. The browser displays the HTMLsource on the window.

Of the processes described above, the processes for generating specificday pattern registration screen 720 of FIG. 10, holiday registrationscreen 830 of FIG. 11 and holiday list screen 910 of FIG. 12 and theprocesses for updating specific day pattern records 952, day of the weekflag records 954 and periodic holiday records 956 of FIG. 13 can readilybe realized by using the technique of updating a master table in acommon data management system. Generation of holiday list screen 910involves only the reading of data and generation of HTML source and,therefore, it can more easily be realized than the processes related tospecific day pattern registration screen 720 and holiday registrationscreen 830.

<Automatic Pattern Updating Process>

Auto pattern updating unit 274 determines, based on the readinformation, whether or not a specific day is set in image formingapparatus 100.

If no specific day is set, the control proceeds to step 542.

If any specific day is set, auto pattern updating unit 274 readsspecific day pattern records 952, day of the week flag records 954 andperiodic holiday records 956 from specific day information 940. Further,based on the read information, auto pattern updating unit 274 specifiesthe day for which a specific day pattern is set and a specific patternis designated, based on the read information. Here, referring to thedate of specific day information records 950 and information read fromday of the week flag records 954 and periodic holiday records 956,whether or not the day designated as the specific day in specific dayinformation record 950 falls on a holiday is determined. If the specificday is determined to fall on a holiday, the holiday operation flag ofspecific day information record 950 is referred to, to determine whetherthe specific day is to be moved forward, postponed or cancelled.

After the day in which the specific day schedule is to be executed isdetermined, auto pattern updating unit 274 counts the number of outputs,the number of jobs and the wait time of image forming apparatus 100, dayby day of the week and time slot by time slot, based on the logsobtained at step 540, for the time slot or time slots set to “followweekly schedule” of the day on which the specific day schedule isexecuted and for all the time slots of days not designated as thespecific day (step 972). From the results of this process, the rate ofoperation of image forming apparatus 100 in each of the time slots setto “follow weekly schedule” of the specific day and every time slot ofdays not designated as the specific day can be calculated. Thesubsequent process is the same as that of auto pattern updating unit 274of the system in accordance with the present embodiment.

«Effects of the System in Accordance with the Present Embodiment»

As described above, by image forming apparatus 100 of the system inaccordance with the present embodiment, the energy saving operationpatterns are updated automatically based on logs and, in addition, thepatterns can be confirmed on the screen. Therefore, the administratorcan grasp in what pattern image forming apparatus 100 is operating and,therefore, it becomes possible to effectively manage image formingapparatus 100. Further, automatically learned pattern and the patternformed by the user can be switched. Therefore, if the pattern learnedfrom past job logs is considered irrelevant, for example, when imageforming apparatus 100 is moved to a different department, the settingsof image forming apparatus 100 can be done manually. Thus, operation ofimage forming apparatus 100 in a pattern not matching the actualoperational status can be avoided.

Therefore, the energy consumption of image forming apparatus 100 can bereduced, taking into account the operational status.

Regarding the operation of image forming apparatus 100, a scheduledifferent from the schedule automatically calculated on weekly basis canbe set, designating a specific day not on a weekly basis, using a unitof repetition not on a weekly basis (in the present embodiment, monthlybasis). Therefore, image forming apparatus 100 can be operated in anenergy saving operation schedule better adjusted to the actual situationof the place of business. Further, when the energy saving operationpattern for image forming apparatus 100 is calculated on weekly basis, atime slot or time slots for which a specific energy saving operationalmode is designated of a specific day are excluded from the calculation.Therefore, the energy saving operation pattern calculated on weeklybasis is free from the influence of the day in which image formingapparatus 100 operates in a different, particular operation pattern, andhence, the accuracy of energy saving operation pattern can be enhanced.

If the operation pattern of a specific day is to be designated and whencalculation of a default pattern is designated, default patterngenerating unit 306 of image forming apparatus 100 generates a defaultenergy saving operation pattern, based on job logs of the correspondingday in the past (in the present embodiment, the corresponding day oflast month), for the specific day. The energy saving operation patternis based on the job logs of the corresponding day of last month and,therefore, it is “pretty close” to the operation pattern to be set forthe specific day. The operator does not need to calculate variousstatistics or to monitor operational status of the apparatus todetermine the operation pattern for the specific day. As a result,burden on the operator for setting the specific day can be alleviated.

[Second Embodiment]

In the first embodiment described above, default pattern generating unit306, auto pattern updating unit 274, specific day pattern registeringunit 296, holiday registering unit 298, specific day registering unit300 and specific day setting screen generating unit 302 and the like areall provided in energy saving setting unit 260 in image formingapparatus 100. Further, holiday list screen 910 shown in FIG. 12 is alsogenerated in holiday registering unit 298. The present invention,however, is not limited to such an embodiment. By way of example, thesefunctions may be realized by a different server. Further, holidays andthe like are generally determined uniformly in the place of businessand, therefore, it may be preferable to uniformly manage holiday listscreen 910 on a server in the place of business, rather than on eachimage forming apparatus. Based on such considerations, in the secondembodiment, pattern updating, comparison with the actual operation, andsetting of specific day are executed by an energy saving managementserver, and holidays are managed by a holiday management server.

FIG. 24 is a schematic block diagram of a network system 1100 inaccordance with the second embodiment. Different from network system 180of the first embodiment, network system 1100 includes a router 1112providing connection to the Internet 1114 to network system 1100, and anenergy saving management server 1116 and a holiday management server1118, both connected to the Internet 1114. Further, network system 1100includes, in place of image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 14, animage forming apparatus 1110 having a function of communicating withenergy saving management server 1116 and holiday management server 1118and operating in accordance with the energy saving operation patterndetermined by energy saving management server 1116.

Energy saving management server 1116 has functions corresponding to autopattern updating unit 274, specific day registering unit 300, specificday pattern registering unit 296 and default pattern generating unit 306of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 6. Energy saving management server1116 further has a function of periodically collecting job logs fromimage forming apparatuses such as image forming apparatus 1110 innetwork system 1100.

Energy saving management server 1116 has functions of managing thespecific day and the specific day pattern of image forming apparatus1110, collecting job logs of image forming apparatus 1110 and the likeand periodically determining the energy saving operation pattern of eachimage forming apparatus, in response to operations from PC 190 and thelike. These can be realized by providing auto pattern updating unit 274,specific day registering unit 300, specific day pattern registering unit296, default pattern generating unit 306, specific day informationstorage unit 304 and the like of the first embodiment in energy savingmanagement server 1116, and regarding the holiday information, byobtaining necessary information from holiday management server 1118.

Holiday management server 1118 has the function of holiday registeringunit 298 of image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment and,therefore, it can manage the holiday information to be managed uniformlyin image forming apparatus 1110 in response to an operation from PC 190.If there is a request for information related to a holiday from imageforming apparatus 1110, PC 190 or the like, holiday management server1118 returns necessary information. Functions necessary to do so are asdescribed with reference to holiday registering unit 298 and holidayregistration screen 830 of FIG. 11 in the first embodiment.

It goes without saying that energy saving management server 1116 andholiday management server 1118 are integrated in one server. In thatcase, energy saving setting unit 260 shown in FIG. 6 is moved,substantially unchanged, to the server, log obtaining unit 270 isadapted to have the function of collecting job logs of each imageforming apparatus in network system 1100, and log storage unit 272 isadapted to have a function of storing the job logs of each image formingapparatus. By performing the process similar to that of the firstembodiment in each of the image forming apparatuses, the energy savingoperation patterns for respective days of the week, the specific daypattern for the specific day, and the actual pattern for the specificday are formed. The energy saving operation pattern and the specific daypattern formed for each image forming apparatus are stored in patternstorage unit 278 and specific day information storage unit 304,respectively, together with information for distinguishing the imageforming apparatuses from each other. These pieces of information aretransmitted and stored at appropriate timing to the corresponding imageforming apparatus and stored. Each image forming apparatus controls theoperational mode of itself in the similar manner as image formingapparatus 100 in accordance with the first embodiment, based on theenergy saving operation pattern and the specific day pattern.

In the embodiment described above, regarding the collection for aspecific day, calculation on monthly basis is used as an example wherecalculation on weekly basis is not appropriate. The present invention,however, is not limited to such an embodiment. In most cases, it issufficient to have auto pattern registered on weekly basis and tocalculate on monthly basis for the specific day. In some cases, however,a unit longer than one month, for example, three months may be used todetermine the specific day. In that case, in addition to the monthlycounting, the rate of operation per every three months is calculated. Itis also possible to determine the specific day in every ten days or onbi-weekly basis, as a unit shorter than a month. These units aredetermined by the actual progress of business activities, and the systemcan easily be adapted to the actual business environment.

As described above, according to the present invention, logs arecollected in a certain period of time (for example, on a weekly basis)and the energy saving operation pattern of the image forming apparatusis determined based thereon; and a specific day is provided and for thespecific day, logs are collected in a time period (for example, onemonth) different from the certain time period, and the energy savingoperation pattern for the specific day can be determined based thereon.If the business transactions or processes are repeated in two or moredifferent cycles, optimal energy saving patterns can be set for bothcycles. As a result, if the operational status of the image formingapparatus differs in different units of repetition, such as in the caseof a schedule repeated on weekly basis and a schedule repeated onmonthly bases, the energy saving effect of the image forming apparatuscan be maintained while not preventing decrease of working efficiency.

It is possible that in some departments, image forming apparatus 110 isfully turned off at night. In such a case, logs during the night timecannot be obtained. Therefore, in the auto mode, the energy savingoperation pattern of the corresponding time slots cannot be determined.To cope with this situation, it is possible to determine a defaultenergy saving operation pattern (default schedule) in advance and toallocate the default energy saving operation pattern to the time slot ofwhich logs could not be obtained. Typically, it is appropriate to setthe “power saving” operational mode as the default mode. That the logscannot be collected means it is not much necessary to keep active theimage forming apparatus 100 in the corresponding time slot.

Regarding the display of energy saving operation pattern table 358 shownin FIG. 8, if the default value is allocated, the display may be madedifferent from other portions (for example, the corresponding portionmay be displayed in gray), or the display may be the same as otherportions. It would be convenient if switching between such manners ofdisplay is possible.

In the description of the system in accordance with the presentembodiment, the energy saving operation pattern is confirmed and set byPC 190 for the administrator provided outside of image forming apparatus100, through the web server in image forming apparatus 100. When theenergy saving operation pattern is to be set in the system of thepresent embodiment, however, it is possible to set using touch-paneldisplay 130 of image forming apparatus 100, as described above.

In the system of the present embodiment, the energy saving operationpattern is learned day by day for each specific day and time slot bytime slot (hourly). The present invention, however, is not limited tosuch an embodiment. By way of example, the time slot may be made shorteror longer. The time slots may have different lengths. For instance, timeslot of one hour may be used for management during daytime, and timeslot of three hours may be used for the night time.

In the system of the present embodiment, colors of the cells of Table 50are made different. The present system, however, is not limited to suchan embodiment. The energy saving operation patterns may be representedusing characters, figures or icons.

Though an example in which energy saving operation pattern table 358 isfully displayed on the screen has been described above, energy savingoperation pattern table 358 may be made scrollable in up/downdirections, considering a screen having small height. Further,day-by-day or time slot-by-time slot display using tabs is alsopossible, so that the display can be switched on the screen. It isnoted, however, that the 24 hour, one-week display shown in FIG. 8 isvisually friendly and preferred.

In the system of the present embodiment, the energy saving operationpatterns are classified to four stages in accordance with the rate ofoperation. The present system, however, is not limited to such anembodiment. The energy saving operation patterns may be classified tolarger number of stages, or smaller number of stages. Further, the rateof operation may be calculated by a numerical value as in themodification described above, and the time before suspended state isentered may be changed as a function of the numerical value.

In the embodiment above, the first group is classified by days of theweek, and the second group is classified only by the day. Therefore,each group belonging to the first group appears repeatedly(periodically) in a constant order, and the frequency of appearance isequal among the groups. The second group is slightly different sincethere are long and short months. The groups, however, appear in order ina substantially similar manner. The present invention, however, is notlimited to such classification of groups.

By way of example, order of appearance of groups may be such that a daybelonging to a certain group appears at a higher frequency or lowerfrequency than a day belonging to another group. For instance, assumethat work pattern of Friday differs on alternate weeks, in a place ofbusiness. Then, one group may be formed for each of Monday to Thursday,and two groups may be formed for Friday as there are two differentpatterns every other week, and hence, a total of eight groups may beformed. Various other classifications of groups may be possible,appropriately considering actual conditions of the place of business.

In the embodiment above, up to three days may be set as the specificdays. It is unnecessary to limit the number of days settable as thespecific days. By way of example, considering repetition on annualbasis, the number of specific days may be much larger than three. Evenin that case, the invention is readily applicable, basically by settingthe number of specific days to be an arbitrary number larger than 3.

The embodiments as have been described here are mere examples and shouldnot be interpreted as restrictive. The scope of the present invention isdetermined by each of the claims with appropriate consideration of thewritten description of the embodiments and embraces modifications withinthe meaning of, and equivalent to, the languages in the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An image forming apparatus having anelectrically operated device, the image forming apparatus, comprising: aprocessor and memory that stores a program executed by the processor,said program capable of power-saving control, the processor beingconfigured to: perform first control of power-saving of said imageforming apparatus in accordance with a condition set by a user on a dayor in a time slot set by the user; perform second control ofpower-saving of said image forming apparatus without any condition setby the user; and apply either said first control or said second controlto said image forming apparatus, wherein said processor appliespower-saving control to said electrically operated device, by said firstcontrol with priority over said second control on the day or in the timeslot set by said user, and applies said second control with priorityover said first control on other days or in other time slots, to controlsaid electrically operated device of said image forming apparatus,wherein said image forming apparatus further including an operation unitincluding a touch panel and a operation key portion configured toprovide, a first user interface that allows the user to select a firstoperational mode that performs the first control; a second userinterface that allows the user to select a second operational mode thatperforms the second control; a specific day pattern registrationinterface receiving, from said user, designation of a power-savingpattern for each time slot of a specific day, and storing saidpower-saving pattern with a pattern name; and a specific dayregistration interface receiving, from said user, designation of aspecific day to execute power-saving control and said pattern name, andstoring said specific day and said pattern name that are designated bysaid user; said first user interface allowing the user to select thefirst operational mode while the second operational mode is beingselected; and on said specific day designated through said specific dayregistration interface, said processor executing power-saving control inaccordance with said power-saving pattern identified by said patternname corresponding to said specific day.
 2. The image forming apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a web server, wherein theprocessor is configured with a program which causes the processor toexecute a first setting, setting as to whether or not said secondcontrol is to be conducted, by communicating with a client computerthrough the web server.
 3. The image forming apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein the processor is configured to execute a secondsetting, setting a day or a time slot in which said processor appliessaid first control with priority to the power-saving control, bycommunicating with a client computer through said web server.
 4. Theimage forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor isconfigured to, display a calendar on a display device of said clientcomputer; and receive, using said calendar, a setting of the day onwhich said processor applies said first control with priority to thepower-saving control.
 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim2, wherein the apparatus is capable of power-saving control inaccordance with any of a plurality of power-saving modes, wherein theprogram causes the processor to configure a power-saving mode uponreceiving a power-saving mode instruction input by a user concerningwhich of said plurality of power-saving modes the power-saving controlis to perform; and wherein at least one of said first and second controlis performed in accordance with the power-saving mode instruction. 6.The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processorperforms any of a plurality of power-saving modes under control of theprogram; and wherein said processor performs one of said first andsecond control in accordance with said any of a plurality ofpower-saving modes.
 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising: a server; and a result display device configured todisplay a result of power-saving control of said image forming apparatusby said processor, on a display device of a client computer bycommunicating with said client computer through said server.
 8. Theimage forming apparatus according to claim 7, capable of power-savingcontrol in accordance with any of a plurality of power-saving modes;wherein said processor performs said second control, as to which of saidplurality of power-saving modes the power-saving control of said imageforming apparatus is to be performed on a day-by-day or timeslot-by-time slot basis; and said result display device displays theresult of power-saving control of said image forming apparatus by saidprocessor performing said second control, on said display device of saidclient computer, on said day-by-day or time slot-by-time slot basis suchthat different power-saving modes can be distinguished from each other,by communicating with the client computer through said server.
 9. Theimage forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electricallyoperated device includes a heating and fixing unit.
 10. A method ofpower-saving control in an image forming apparatus having anelectrically operated device, the image forming apparatus having aprocessor and a memory that stores a program executed by the processorand capable of power-saving control, comprising: applying, to thepower-saving control of said image forming apparatus, either one of afirst process of performing power-saving control of said image formingapparatus independent of the operational status of said image formingapparatus, and a second process of performing power-saving control ofsaid image forming apparatus in accordance with the operational statusof said image forming apparatus, with priority over the other on a dayor in a time slot in accordance with user setting, wherein said applyingapplies, to the power-saving control to said electrically operateddevice of said image forming apparatus, said first process with priorityover said second process on the day or in the time slot set by saiduser, and applies said second process with priority over said firstprocess on other days or in other time slots: first displaying a firstinterface that allows the user to select a first operational mode thatoperates during the first process; second displaying a second userinterface that allows the user to select a second operational mode thatoperates during the second process; receiving, from said user,designation of a power-saving pattern for each time slot of a specificday, and storing said power-saving pattern with a pattern name;receiving, from said user, designation of a specific day to executepower-saving control and said pattern name, and storing said specificday and said pattern name that are designated by said user; and on saidspecific day designated by said user, executing power-saving control inaccordance with said power-saving pattern identified by said patternname corresponding to said specific day; and wherein said firstdisplaying allows the user to select said first operational mode whilesaid second operational mode is being selected.
 11. The method ofpower-saving control according to claim 10, wherein the electricallyoperated device includes a heating and fixing unit.